A brutal incident in which 20 women were gang-raped on the pretext of employment was reported in Sirohi, Rajasthan. The police have arrested the municipal chairman and former municipal commissioner in connection with this case.
The accused in the rape case, Municipal Chairman Mahendra Mewada, and former Municipal Commissioner Mahendra Chaudhary are in police custody. He has been accused of raping 20 women on the pretext of providing them with jobs in Anganwadi.
The case came to light after a woman in Pali district approached the police. “20 other women were raped on the pretext of providing employment,” the woman said in the complaint.
The accused filmed the gruesome act of sexual assault and threatened the victims to release the footage on social media. According to the complaint, they demanded ₹5 lakh from each of the victimized women.
The complainant along with other women had traveled to Sirohi a few months back for work at an Anganwadi. Then there was an opportunity to meet the accused and he provided food and accommodation to the women.
The victim alleged that he mixed medicine in her meal and then sexually assaulted her.
When the accused were questioned about this after regaining consciousness, they said that they had committed the atrocity to fulfill their own objectives. In addition to fulfilling their demands, the accused forced them to continue the physical relationship, according to the complaint.
Even after the women who were raped filed complaints, the police did not investigate. The women were accused of filing a false complaint. Later, the Rajasthan High Court ordered the police to register a case.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Paras Chaudhary said, “This woman had filed a false complaint earlier. However, the Rajasthan High Court ordered the registration of a case based on the petition of eight women. “Investigation in the case is going on,” he said.
